Crown agrees $100m Te Wairoa settlement

The government's programme of completing Treaty of Waitangi claims continues, with the announcement of a settlement package valued at $100 million for the iwi and hapu of Te Wairoa.

It covers seven clustered groups in northern Hawke's Bay, southern Gisborne, the town of Wairoa, Lake Waikaremoana and the Mahia peninsula.

The settlement includes the assets of the Wharerata and Patunamu Forests, a number of Department of Conservation sites, and a social and economic revitalisation strategy in partnership with government agencies.

The clusters represent some 30,400 people and are made up of Ngati Rakaipaaka, Rongomaiwahine/Ngai Te Rakato, the Wairoa Waikaremoana Maori Trust Board, Ngai Tamaterangi/Hinemanuhiri, Whakaki Nui-a-Rua and Te Wairoa Tapokorau Clusters 1 and 2 and all descendants from the ancestor Kahungunu and the Takitimu waka.

"The agreement in principle marks the start of the next phase of negotiations with Te Wairoa and represents an important milestone. This agreement provides both the Crown and Te Wairoa with a basis from which we can develop a detailed deed of settlement," said Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson in a statement